Second home owners to pay twice as much council tax

Villages like Castleton, pictured here, have many second homes

People with second homes in part of Derbyshire will have to pay twice as much council tax from April 2025.

Derbyshire Dales District councillors have said they voted for this to help first-time buyers get on to the property ladder.

It will apply to furnished homes that are not the owners' main residence.

But the tax increase will not apply to holiday cottages because owners of these houses pay business rates and not council tax.

The move was approved at Derbyshire Dales District Council's annual budget-setting meeting.

District councillor Sue Burfoot said she hoped this move would lead to a reduction in the number of second homes in the area.

She said: "We have all got to be aware of the impact of second homes, particularly on rural communities, on our villages.

"We have got less affordable homes, we have got inflated house prices, we have got gazumping. I know that for a fact because my nephew was [gazumped] several times. There are threats to our rural schools and shops."

District councillor Sue Burfoot is concerned about the impact of second homes

The district council is able to do this because of a change in the law following the introduction of the Levelling Up and Regeneration Bill last year.

James Bowers, 27, from Belper, Derbyshire, is a first-time buyer who has been looking at houses in the Derbyshire Dales.

He said many of the houses he had been interested in had sold quickly.

Mr Bowers said: "It is frustrating for people like me trying to get on to the property ladder when people have got properties they don't use."

First-time buyer James Bowers is frustrated with the number of second homes

Mrs Burfoot warned this is not a quick fix.

She said: "I do understand that this is not going to be an instant solution which we all have to accept.

"It will take some time - it will take years to reduce the number of second homes."

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